Fuse center



Oct. 22, 1935. w COLE 2,018,298

FUSE CENTER Filed Dec. 12, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l NNNNNN OR Oct. 22, 1935. w E 2,018,298

FUSE CENTER Filed Dec. 12, 1929 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR Lou/s l COLE ATTORNEY Patented a. 22, 1935 UNIT/ED? STATES XQPATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction and arrangement of fuse panels for electric light and power installations.

The more widely used types of fuse panels consist of the usual metal box which is set in the wall of a new job before the plaster is put on. The walls of the boxes themselves have the necessary knockouts and the open front edges are intended to be arranged flush with the wall. The

cut-outs or fuse bases are mounted on the inside of the back wall of the box and a cover is finally attached to the latter by means of four or more screw connections engaging suitable lugs arranged at the corners of or along the side walls. The cover according to the most desirable design comprises a rectangular frame of a dimension to overlie the open ends of the side walls of the box and a depressed center area having an opening which allows the face of the fusebase to project therethrough. If the whole apparatus is properly installed, no doubt all of the parts will true up as intended, but few installations ever even approximate the ideal and as a consequence if the box is not level the cover or front must be 26 out of line, because the latter is attached directly to the sides of the box. Then, as is very often the case, the box is set too far into the wall and the cut-out or fuse base being attached to and resting against the back wall, will not project 30 outwardly far enough to meet the walls of the opening in the cover, resulting in an unsightly gap which will be formed between the face of the base and the adjacent overlying depressed portion of the cover. From the few prevailing conditions, set forth in the foregoing, it will be clear that the main disadvantage of the construction of the ordinary fuse panel, appears to be in the fixed relative positions of the box, fuse base and cover, all of which cannot be ex- 40 pected to co-operate with any kind of precision if even one section is not correctly installed, and as already explained perfect installation in this class of work is seldom performed or ever expected. Having the foregoing problemsin mind, the present invention hasfor its purpose to provide a cover section on which the fuse base is hung and means by which the fuse base and cover section is then hung or carried by the back wall of the box, the cover section and unit being adjustable to insure perfect alignment of the cover with respect to the building line.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide means for attaching the cover to the fuse base so as to bring the fastening means within the closure covered by the door for the depressed portion of the fuse panel.

I have accomplished these purposes by means of the fuse panel illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings and fully described and 5 set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved fuse panel assembled, showing the door in open position; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the box and fuse base 10 with cover removed; Figure 3 is a substantially transverse sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a front elevational view of a type of tie bar for mounting the cover section and fuse base to the back wall of the box; Figures 15 5 and 6 are front views of boxes showing the means used to mount a modified arrangement of the fuse sockets; and Figure 'l is a detail view of a supporting bar used with a three socket fuse base. 20

Referring now to the details of the drawings,

I0 denotes a box used to house the fuse base or cut-out II, and i2 designates the cover or front section for the box 10. The box It! consists of a metal container having a back wall l3 and up- 25 right side walls I4, the latter being provided with the usual knockouts l5. Spaced from each other and adjustable in the back wall I3 of the box through openings in the fuse base II, are screws l6, upon which the fuse base or cut-out II is 30 hung, as illustrated in Figure 3. By means of these screws Hi the unit ll may be adjusted in its position either towards or away from the open front of the box In.

The fuse base Il may be designed to accoma5 modate any number of fuse plugs and by way of example I have illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, a solid neutral cut-out provided with four'fuse sockets I'I projecting into a raised central platform l8, the face of which is slightly raised above 40 a narrow shoulder l9. Stepped down and disposed completely about the platform l8-is a ledge 20 provided with suitable openings and seats to retain certain parts of the electrical equipment. midway the lengths of opposite upright ledges 20 45 are through openings 2| to accommodate the screw bolts 22 from which are supported both the unit I I and front section or wall I2.

I have clearly illustrated in Figure 3, the novel manner in which I intend to carry the fuse base 50 II and front section i2. A tie or hanger bar 23 is used as the intermediary member between the screws 16 and base II and the type of bar illustrated in Figure 3 comprises a straight, rigid length of narrow steel, slotted adjacent its oppo- 66 site ends so as to virtually form hooks 24,- the purpose of which is to hook over the screws I6. It will be clear thus far, that the bar 28 may be disposed at any relative distance from the back wall l3 by proper adjustment of the screws themselves through suitable openings II in the fuse base II. The length of the screw bolts 22 is suiiicient to bring their free ends well towards the front of the box.

The front section I2 is similar to the ordinary front already described in connection with the prior art, the section having the frame 26 of a dimension to project beyond the side walls ll of the box III, and a centrally depressed wall 21 terminating in an opening 28 the walls of which are intended to closely embrace the base II about the shoulder I9. Instead of the outside connection for the support of the front section, as ordinarily used, I provide openings 29 in the wall 2! which are disposed to register with the screw bolts 22, the latter passing through the openings to receive nuts 30. The nuts 30 then may be tightened to draw the sections together and because of the .depressed wall 21, the nuts are arranged entirely within the fuse chamber. The fuses themselves'as well as the nuts 30 are concealed by a door 3| hinged at one upright edge to the front section I2 and adapted to close over the fuse chamber.

A box I 0 used to accommodate the three fuse base Ila, illustratively exemplified in Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings, is not modified, it being only necessary in some cases to place the screws I 6 over each other. The arrangement of the screw bolts 22a, however, is slightly changed in order to give ample support to the front section I2 and to avoid possible r0- tary movement thereof, as would possibly be the consequence if the screw bolts were too close together. The screw bolts 22a, therefore, arranged, as shown in Figure 5, that is to say, one bolt 22a being disposed above or in advance of the other, are accommodated in similarly spaced openings in the depressed wall of the front section. Since only one of the bolts 22a projects outwardly from the bar 23a, the other bolt 22a is carried by the fuse base itself and the latter is attached to the bar 23a in the place opposite to the normally disposed bolt 22a by a short screw bolt 32 projecting from the bar to the face of the ledge 20a of the base to receive a nut 33.

The importance of this invention of course lies in the substantially perfectly appearing installation whichmay be attained. For instance, assuming that the box I 0 has been installed and during the plastering operation it has been dislocated, that is to say, either it is twisted out of line, or if dimensions have been miscalculated, the distance between the back wall I4 and cover or front I2 is too great to allow normal seating of the shoulder I9 against the walls of the opening 28, the electrician is merely called upon to drop the cut-out or base on the screws I6, and then the screw bolts 22 are projected through the openings in the front section I2 and the nuts 30 applied and tightened.

This operation draws the walls of the opening tightly against the shoulder I9. The screws I6 are then adjusted by inserting a screw driver through the openings II in the base to engage the screw heads I6 which are rotated, until the front I2 is held tightly against the wall surrounding the box I0. Ifthe box I0 is out of line with respect to the plane of the plastered wall then it may be necessary to adjust one screw I6 hooks :1 enable the base u to be aligned with the proper level and still maintain sufficient purchase on the screws to give ample support to the parts.

Another particular advantage of my. arrangement resides in the ease with which the box and its enclosures may be grounded, as required by the laws gover'ningelectrical installations of this character, it being clear that the front section I2, through the screw bolts 22, bar 23 and screws I6 form an unobstructed conduit, for the ground connection with the box itself.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which the same is practiced, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a fuse box, the combination of an open sided container, screws adjustable in the wall thereof opposite the open side, a bar having slots adjacent its ends to receive the screws and openings outside of the slots, a fuse base carried by the bar, screw bolts projecting through said openings in the bar, the threaded stems of the bolts projecting forwardly through the base towards the open side of the box, nuts turned down on the bolts against the base to hold the bar and base rigidly together, a cover for the open side of the box comprising a frame portion to overlie the sides and a depressed mid portion having an opening to receive the face of the base and further openings through which the screw bolts project into the space formed by the depressed portion, nuts adjustable over the bolts and against the front cover to draw the latter towards the box and tightly about the base and a hinged door for the depressed portion to conceal the face of the base and nuts.

2. The combination with a fuse box and a front cover therefor, of a fuse'base for the interior of said box, adjustable supporting means for the base and front cover comprising screws carried by the back wall of the box, a bar hooked onto said screws, and means holding the base and bar together, and the cover to the box comprising a pair of screw bolts carried by the said bar and projecting outwardly through said base, means adjustable over said bolts and against the base to rigidly connect the latter and bar, and in which the front cover is provided with a de pressed portion having an opening to admit the face of the fuse base therethrough and openings on opposite sides of the first opening to admit the free ends of said bolts therethrough, means to screw over the bolts and against the depressed portion of the front cover to draw the base and cover together and the base outwardly on the screws in the back wall, and a door hinged to the front cover and operating to close over the depressed portion thereof to conceal the last named means and the protruding ends of the screw bolts.

3. In combination, a panel box adapted to be inserted in an opening in a building wall, a panel mounted within said panel box, means for supporting said panel comprising a member on which said panel'is mounted and a plurality of threaded members secured to and projecting forwardly from the rear wall of said panel box in engagement with said panel mounting member, and a trim member having a marginal portion adapted to en a the building wall about the opening therein and a depressed central portion having an opening through which access may be had to said panel, said trim member and said panel being mounted as a unit with said panel mounting member and simultaneously adjustable therewith with respect to said panel box and building wall.

4. In combination, a panel box adapted to be inserted within an opening in a building wall, said panel box having a rear wall and an open front which is spaced rearwardly of the front face of the building wall when the box is in position, a panel adapted to be supported within said box, a trim member having a marginal portion adapted to contact the front face of the building wall about the opening therein when the panel is positioned within said box, and means for supporting ,said panel and said trim member in said box and opposed side walls, a panel mounting member sup-- ported within said box, posts extending through said member in spaced parallel relation to said side walls and terminating rearwardly of the face of said building wall, a wall-trim member fitting over the box and apertured to fit over said posts, and means engaging the posts and trim for securing a marginal portion of the trim in overlapping surface contact with the wall.

6. In combination, a panel box adapted to be inserted within a building wall, said box having opposed side walls, a panel mounting member supported within said box, posts extending through said member in spaced parallel relation to said side walls and terminating rearwardly of the face of said building wall, a wall-trim member fitting over and including a depressed central portion fitting within the confines of said side walls and apertured to fit over said posts, and means engaging the posts and said depressed portion of the trim for securing a marginal portion of the trim in overlapping surface contact with the wall.

7. In combination, a panel box adapted tobe inserted within a building wall, said box having opposed side walls, a panel mounting member supported within said box, posts extending through said member in spaced parallel relation to said side walls and terminating rearwardly of the face of said building wall, a wall-trim member fitting over the box and apertured to fit over said posts, means engaging the posts and trim for securing a marginal portion of the trim in overlapping surface contact with the wall, and means for adjustably securing said panel mounting member to said panel box.

8. In combination, a panel box adapted to be inserted within an opemng in a building wall, said panel box having an open front spaced from the front face of said building wall when the box is in position, a panel adapted to be mounted 5 within said box with the front of the panel spaced rearwardly of the front face of the building wall,

a trim member having a marginal portion adapted to contact the front face of the building wall and a depressed portion having an opening therein through which at least a portion of the panel is accessible, said depressed portion overlying the front face of the panel, means securing said depressed portion of the trim member to said panel, and means for supporting said panel within said box and for simultaneously adjusting and positioning said panel and the trim member secured thereto with the marginal portion of the trim member in contact with the front face of the building wall substantially completely there- 2 to contact the face of the building wall and an inwardly depressed portion in proximity to the front face of said panel, threaded members extending through said panel and the depressed portion of the trim member for securing said panel and trim together as a unit, and means for. supporting and adjusting said panel and said trim member as a unit within said panel box.

10. In combination, a panel box adapted to be inserted in an opening in a building wall, said box having an open front spaced rearwardly of the 40 face of the building wall when the box is in position, a panel adapted to be mounted within said box with the front face of the panel spaced rearwardly of the face of said building wall, a trim member having a marginal portion adapted to contact the face 0 the building wall and an inwardly depressed portion in proximity to the front face of said panel, threaded members extending through said panel and the depressed portion of the trim member (for securing said panel and trim together as a unit, means for supporting and adjusting said panel and said trim W. COLE. 

